Explaining sub-national variation in Liberian land disputes : the role of local institutions and development in order and conflict
Hartman, Alexandra
Around the world conflict over the right to land on both a large and small scale is a source of instability, violence, and civil war. Conflicts over land exist at all levels, between nation states, between states and irredentist movements, between cities, towns and communities, and between individuals. Population growth coupled with an explosion in demand for natural resources and especially food and water, fuels a speculative bubble. This drastically increases the stakes of disputes, from the villages where people fight over boundaries between their gardens to the backrooms of ministries where government officials allocate thousands of acres in concessions. Especially in post-conflict countries, control over land determines the ability of the state to consolidate its power. Yet it is not a given that disputes over land and property elude resolution for months or even years or that such disputes become violent or provide the fodder for war.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2013
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